Centaurea diluta

North african knapweed

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

North African knapweed is a naturalized annual found in western coastal California and southern coastal regions in disturbed places at elevations below 170 meters. Flowering from April to December, this plant produces pink-purple flowers in radiant heads with distinctive fringed phyllary appendages. Growing up to 1.3 meters tall with openly branched stems that are puberulent or nearly hairless and resin-dotted, it develops a distinctive branching structure. Its lower leaves are 10 to 15 centimeters long with coarsely lobed margins, featuring a generally largest distal lobe, while upper leaves become progressively smaller and less complex. The fruit is approximately 3.5 millimeters long with white pappus bristles about 4.5 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Disturbed places

Bloom period: Apr-Dec

Elevation: < 170 m

Bioregions: w CW, SCo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.